New analysis of the behaviour of petrol retailers in Perth over a period of five years shows how tacit collusion caused prices to increase by up to 50%.

Saudi workers have been given a pay bonus by their new king, but unless oil prices rebound the country will find itself eating into its US$750 billion sovereign nest egg.
EPA/Ali HaiderFebruary 2, 2015

In his first royal decree, Saudi Arabia’s newly crowned King Salman announced two-month bonuses for state employees, pensioners, students, and recipients of social service programs (that is, everyone in…

Can you save time and money with a half-filled fuel tank?
Flickr/Michael CoghlanJanuary 22, 2015

Fuel prices may be at historic lows at the moment but when they rise again, what is the best strategy to save money at the bowser? There are many suggestions for saving money such as when and where to…

Road safety is a seriously important public policy issue. Around 1.3 million people die in road crashes around the world each year. Among teenagers and young adults, road crashes are the number-one cause…

Readers of the Financial Times would have recently encountered a story that encompasses the paper’s version of bad/good news when it comes to the oil business. According to the author Daniel Yergin, the…

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s latest foray into the difficult and politically charged arena of petrol pricing is just the latest in a long running saga that is unlikely to be resolved…

A cheap or costly drop? You might be surprised to find out how Australian taxes on petrol compare to overseas.
AAP/Andrew BrownbillJuly 17, 2014

UPDATED ON TUESDAY 22 JULY: See editor’s note below for details on the updates. In this year’s federal budget, the Abbott government moved to restart automatically increasing the fuel excise in line with…

Australia’s cost of living is among the highest in the world, despite our low inflation rate. In this series we explore what consumers can expect from the big ticket items - petrol, power and groceries…

Costco is looking to expand its US petrol business to its Australian stores.
lokeswari/FlickrOctober 15, 2013

In a new twist in the long-running Australian petrol wars, Costco is preparing to join the discount petrol market. Sydney’s second Costco outlet, scheduled to open later this year, will reportedly sell…

A curious feature of the election campaign to date has been the lack of focus on competition and consumer policy. Generally this subject rates highly, as parties try to curry favour with consumers and…

New research by economists from the Australian National University claims that if petrol excise duty were linked to inflation, Australians would drive less and buy more fuel-efficient cars. But higher…

If petrol prices are relatively low, why worry about burning the stuff?
David NeubertMarch 1, 2013

An iron law of economics is that people respond to incentives. If the petrol price goes up, it should be of little surprise that consumers alter their choices at both the petrol pump and the car dealership…

Proving that Woolworths and Coles engaged in unconscionable conduct with their suppliers will be a lengthy and difficult task for the ACCC.
AAPFebruary 20, 2013

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has declared open season on Coles and Woolworths. In an unusual step, the ACCC’s chairman, Rod Sims, discussed his organisation’s current investigations…

The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to keep the cash rates unchanged tomorrow: but prominent economists say the case for a cut may be firming.
AAPSeptember 3, 2012

CAMA’s Shadow Board, which gives its views ahead of the decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia, continues to support the current setting of the cash rate at 3.5%. But economists are seeing a greater…

Australia’s energy security will fall again after Caltex’s decision to shut its Sydney plant at Kurnell (pictured), but the Federal Government is yet to have a coherent stance on domestic refining capacity.
AAP/Mick TsikasJuly 30, 2012

Last week, Caltex decided to close its Kurnell refinery in Sydney. This closure follows a recent decision by Shell to close its refinery at Clyde in Sydney and it will leave the city without any oil refineries…

What can international markets tell us about whether Australian petrol price sharing arrangements are anti-competitive?
AAPMay 27, 2012

The way petrol is priced in Australia has been a perennially vexed issue. Earlier this month, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced it would launch an inquiry into price-sharing…

Read the second part of our In Conversation between Stephen King (left) and former ACCC head, Graeme Samuel.
AAPApril 26, 2012

Welcome to part two of our In Conversation between the former head of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Graeme Samuel and Monash’s Professor Stephen King, also a former competition regulator…